The Soviet Union and Second-Area Actions
Abstract
During the past decade the Soviet Union has shown an increasing capacity and willingness to intervene militarily in regions outside the central NATO-Warsaw Pact area. This Note discusses the likelihood of further "second-area" actions. It also addresses the question of whether the United States should attempt to challenge Soviet clients and allies in second areas, either to affect the overall U.S.-Soviet balance or to counterbalance specific Soviet actions that the United States finds difficult to meet directly. The Note concludes that while the United States must be prudent in planning against Soviet military actions in second areas, it should not overestimate either the gravity of such challenges or the opportunities for exploiting vulnerabilities on the Soviet side. While in theory the USSR has the option of using its enormous military forces for intervention in contiguous and noncontiguous second areas, in reality the Soviets regard as available for second areas only those forces not devoted to filling three central tasks: deterring U.S. strategic nuclear forces, maintaining a favorable balance vis-a-vis Western Europe, and maintaining a favorable balance vis-a-vis China.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADA511837
Entities
People
- John Van Oudenaren
Organizations
- RAND Corporation